Bidens Launch ‘Biden Foundation’ to Focus on Cancer Research

1 Feb 2017

Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, are launching a charitable foundation that will focus on cancer research, sexual assault on college campuses, supporting community college education, and other issues, the Hill reported.

“I’m more optimistic than I’ve ever been since I’ve been in public life,” the former vice president said in a video announcing the Biden Foundation.

“We’re better positioned than any country in the world to lead the world in the 21st century — not just by the example of our power, but by the power of our example,” he said.

The foundation will be headquartered in Washington, D.C. but will be incorporated in Delaware, the Washington Post reported.

Unlike the Clinton Foundation, the Biden Foundation will not accept money from foreign citizens or entities, but it will accept money from private and corporate foundations, according to a foundation representative who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity to discuss the issue before the official announcement.

“We look forward to this new chapter where we will continue our work to ensure that everyone — no matter their income level, race, gender, age, or sexuality — is treated with dignity and gets a fair shot at achieving the American Dream,” Biden and the former second lady said in a statement released Wednesday.

The foundation’s board of directors will be made up of former Sen. Ted Kaufman, a longtime Biden adviser; Valerie Biden Owens, Biden’s sister; Mark Gitenstein, a former Biden aide who later was ambassador to Romania; Mark Angelson, another veteran Biden adviser; and Jeff Peck of Peck, Madigan, and Jones who also worked for Biden on Capitol Hill, according to Politico.

Louisa Terrell, who previously worked for Biden in the Senate, was Sen. Cory Booker’s former chief of staff, lobbied for Facebook, and most recently served as adviser to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will be the foundation’s executive director.